Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-103).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-82).

published_or_final_version / Biochemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Agrin triggers the subsynaptic aggregation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) via activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase MuSK (muscle-specific kinase). At present, the intracellular mechanisms utilized by MuSK to initiate such a complex process remain unknown. In the present study, I first tested if H-ras was involved in the process of synaptogenesis induced by agrin. The data presented suggest that ras could have a role in this process because a dominant inhibitory ras mutant (ras-N17) partially blocked the inductive effects of agrin while two activated ras mutants (ras-V12 and ras-V12-D38) induced agrin-independent AChR clusters. These effects were not due to major alterations in the levels of AChR, though more experiments are required to confirm these preliminary findings. / Second, I investigated whether the adaptor protein Shc was a downstream effector of activated MuSK. MuSK and Shc could be co-immunoprecipitated, but this association was not consistently observed nor was it modulated by agrin at all times. Generally, no alteration in Shc phosphotyrosine content was observed in response to agrin, and when an increase was detected, it was modest. Finally, agrin did not modulate the interaction between Shc and Grb2. Based on these results, I conclude that Shc interaction with MuSK is not regulated by agrin.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Neuroscience)--Vanderbilt University, May 2008. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2005.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2004.

Clearance of molecularly damaged and misfolded synaptic vesicle (SV) proteins is vital for the maintenance of healthy, functional synapses. However, this process poses significant trafficking challenges for neurons, as the majority of degradative organelles and machinery are localized in the somatodendritic compartment, far from SV pools in presynaptic terminals. Our previous work showed that SV protein degradation is mediated by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) pathway in an activity-dependent manner. Moreover, we found that neuronal activity increased ESCRT protein recruitment to axons and SV pools, suggesting a novel mechanism for regulating the trafficking of this critical degradative machinery, whose localization and transport in neurons has been unexplored. Here, we characterize the axonal transport of ESCRT-0 proteins Hrs and STAM1, the first components of the ESCRT pathway, which are critical for initiating SV protein degradation. We find that Hrs- and STAM1-positive transport vesicles exhibit increased anterograde and bidirectional motility in response to neuronal activity, as well as frequent contact with SV pools. ESCRT-0 vesicles typically colocalize with early endosome marker Rab5, but their transport dynamics do not mirror those of the total Rab5 vesicle pool. Moreover, other ESCRT pathway components and effectors do not show activity-dependent changes to motility, indicating that neuronal firing specifically regulates the motility of the ESCRT-0+ subset of Rab5+ structures in axons. Finally, we identify kinesin-3 motor protein KIF13A as essential for the activity-dependent transport of ESCRT-0 vesicles as well as the degradation of SV membrane proteins. Altogether, these studies demonstrate a novel activity-dependent mechanism for mobilizing the axonal transport of a newly characterized endosomal subtype carrying ESCRT machinery. This activity-induced transport is necessary for ESCRT-mediated degradation of synaptic vesicle proteins.